There are certain places that stay in your nervous system long after you leave them.
Big Sur was one of those places for me.
As a photographer, filmmaker, and drone pilot, I’ve seen the California coast online for years — cinematic drone shots, cliffs disappearing into fog, winding roads hanging over the Pacific Ocean. But after spending several days based in Carmel-by-the-Sea exploring Point Lobos, Garrapata, Bixby Bridge, Monterey, and Big Sur itself, I realized something quickly:
The camera barely captures how massive and emotionally overwhelming this coastline actually feels in person.
The scale of it all is hard to explain.
The cliffs.
The fog.
The silence.
The ocean.
The endless movement of light.
It constantly felt like standing inside a landscape painting that somehow kept changing every few minutes.
The Drive Down Highway 1
Driving Highway 1 felt less like transportation and more like floating through magic
One moment everything was hidden behind thick fog.
The next, the coastline would suddenly open up beneath the clouds.
I must’ve pulled over a dozen times.
Not because I planned to.
Because the landscape kept demanding it.
Carmel-by-the-Sea
Looking out over the coast near bixby bridge
We stayed in Carmel-by-the-Sea, and honestly, it may be one of the most charming towns I’ve ever visited.
The whole place feels intentionally slower.
Tiny winding streets.
Art galleries.
Hidden courtyards.
Locally owned cafes.
Old trees hanging over roads.
Little cottages covered in ivy.
No giant chain-store feeling.
No visual chaos.
No overdevelopment.
Just local texture. Everywhere.
As someone who spends a lot of time shooting content professionally, I think certain places wake your senses back up creatively. Carmel did that for me almost immediately.
First Stop: Point Lobos State Park
Our first real destination was Point Lobos, and honestly, nothing prepared me for it.
Especially Cypress Grove Trail.
I genuinely think it may be one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever stood in. Period.
The twisted cypress trees hanging over bright turquoise water looked something out of a fairytale.
Waves exploded against jagged black rocks while fog drifted slowly through the cliffs and coastline.
Every few minutes the light changed completely.
You can see & hear the sea lions and seagulls @ Sea Lion Cove. Place was alive and kicking.
A family of sea lions lounging on the beach.
It felt impossible not to stop every ten feet to shoot something.
The place almost overwhelms you creatively.
And the silence there was incredible too.
Just wind, waves, birds, and the ocean stretching endlessly into the distance.
At sunset, Point Lobos somehow became even more insane.
The entire coastline started glowing gold while fog rolled through the cliffs. It honestly felt spiritual for a moment.
I remember standing there just completely blown away by the scale and beauty of it all.
Not even shooting.
Just staring.
That became a theme throughout the trip.
I call this “Stairway To Heaven”.
Exploring Whalers Cove & Weston Tide Pools
One of my favorite quieter moments from Point Lobos was exploring Whalers Cove and the Weston Tide Pools during low tide.
Sea urchins.
Starfish.
Anemones.
Tiny crabs hidden everywhere inside the rocks.
For anyone into wildlife photography, macro photography, or just exploring nature slowly, it’s incredible.
If you go, definitely check the tide schedule beforehand because low tide completely transforms the experience.
The textures, colors, and little ecosystems hidden in those rocks were unbelievable.
Does this rock not look like a whale??
The amount of life packed into those rocks was incredible.
Starfish, sea anemones, little crabs, sea urchins — entire tiny ecosystems hidden in places most people probably walk right past.
Garrapata State Park & Flying the Drone Along the Coast
After Point Lobos, we explored Garrapata State Park and the surrounding coastline.
This stretch of California felt more raw and untamed than almost anywhere else we visited.
Massive cliffs.
Endless ocean.
Rolling fog.
Trails disappearing into hillsides.
Flying the drone there honestly felt surreal.
Every direction looked cinematic without even trying.
That’s one thing I kept thinking throughout the trip as a filmmaker — some places naturally contain so much atmosphere and emotion that your job becomes less about “creating beauty” and more about trying not to ruin it while documenting it.
I spent hours just exploring the coastline, pulling over constantly, trying different drone angles, long lens shots, and wide landscapes.
I found this little waterfall on one of the trails
Wildflowers Along the Coast
Another thing that completely caught me off guard was the flowers everywhere along the coastline.
I wasn’t expecting that part of the trip to stand out so much, but the contrast was unreal — bright wildflowers growing right out of these massive rugged cliffs above the Pacific Ocean.
Orange poppies, deep purples, yellows, tiny little flowers tucked between rocks and trails everywhere you looked.
Against all the fog, dark cliffs, crashing waves, and moody light, the colors almost didn’t feel real.
I kept stopping constantly trying to photograph them. Some of my favorite shots from the trip honestly ended up being those quieter moments — flowers moving in the wind with the coastline disappearing into fog behind them.
It added this unexpected softness to such a dramatic landscape.
Heres a few of the shots i took. All shot with Sony A7IV + Sigma 105mm Macro Lens.
Bixby Bridge: Somehow Even Better in Person
Bixby Bridge with the fog rolling through the cliffs and the Pacific Ocean crashing below was a sight to behold.
The scale of the bridge against the landscape is incredible.
And as the weather shifted throughout the day, the entire mood of the scene kept transforming every few minutes.
That whole drive through Big Sur honestly felt like one long cinematic sequence.
Big Sur & Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park
the quiet of the redwoods
The following day we headed deeper into Big Sur itself and explored Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park.
One moment you’re standing above ocean cliffs. The next, you’re deep inside towering redwoods with water moving through the forest. Walking through the redwoods felt grounding.
Everything became quieter.
The scale of the trees makes you slow down automatically.
You stop thinking as much.
You just observe.
Light barely made it through parts of the forest, and every now and then the fog would drift between the trunks like smoke.
Seeing both the coastline and massive redwoods in the same trip was honestly incredible.
The hike itself was wonderful.
Quiet.
Peaceful.
Ancient feeling.
You could hear the wind moving through the trees while soft fog drifted through the forest. Water gently flowing through the mountains.
And then came the rain.
A LOT of rain.
By the time we were heading back, it absolutely dumped on us. I got completely drenched through and through.
Thankfully I had packed a rain cover for my camera gear, which honestly saved me. The gear survived perfectly, but I looked like I had jumped into the ocean fully clothed.
We ended up heading back afterward so I could dry off and warm up, but honestly even that became part of the adventure.
Trips like this almost feel incomplete without moments like that.
Carmel, 17-Mile Drive & Asilomar State Beach
Our second full day was spent driving through Carmel, 17-Mile Drive, and Asilomar State Beach.
Honestly, the entire Monterey Peninsula area feels like a dream for photographers and filmmakers.
Everywhere you look:
- dramatic coastline
- twisted trees
- moody fog
- crashing waves
- incredible textures
- beautiful architecture
17-Mile Drive especially felt timeless.
Quiet roads winding along the ocean with unbelievable views around almost every corner.
And Carmel somehow managed to feel both luxurious and deeply artistic at the same time.
It’s hard to explain unless you’ve been there.
Last Day — Monterey Bay Aquarium & Cannery Row
The last day of the trip we spent at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which honestly ended up being way more emotionally impactful than I expected.
The giant kelp forest exhibit was hypnotic.
Watching the kelp sway through the water while fish moved silently through beams of light slowed my brain down in the best way possible.
The jellyfish exhibits especially felt unreal — floating glowing sculptures suspended in darkness.
Afterward we explored the area outside the aquarium along Cannery Row.
That whole area had such a good vibe.
Little gift shops.
Locally made goods.
Ocean air.
People wandering slowly.
Restaurants and cafes tucked along the street.
It felt alive without feeling overwhelming.
The perfect ending to the trip honestly.
Reflections
By the end of the trip, I realized this wasn’t just a photography and videography trip for me.
It felt more like a reset.
A reminder of how disconnected modern life can make us from actual presence.
Most of our lives now happen through screens.
Notifications.
Algorithms.
Deadlines.
Artificial light.
But places like Big Sur force you to slow down enough to notice things again.
Light moving through fog.
The sound of waves.
The texture of trees.
The scale of the ocean.
Silence.
And honestly, I think that’s why places like Monterey, Carmel, Point Lobos, Garrapata, and Big Sur affect artists, photographers, filmmakers, and travelers so deeply.
Not just because they’re beautiful.
Because they make you feel present again.
Even now looking back through all the footage, drone shots, and photographs from the trip, I still don’t think the camera fully captured what it actually felt like to stand there.
But maybe that’s part of the beauty of it too. You cant take it with you. Its there waiting till next time.
Explore some of my other photography work here
